Shrewsbury man, 82, killed in house fire

SHREWSBURY — An elderly man was killed and his wife was injured Wednesday night in a fire at their home at 24 Artemas Ave.

Fire Chief James M. Vuona said this morning that Richard W. Hosking, 82, died in the fire. Anne M. Hosking, 85, was taken by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus for treatment of smoke inhalation.

When firefighters arrived at the house about 7:30 p.m. in response to several 911 calls, they found Mrs. Hosking outside the two-story house with a relative who lives nearby. She told them that her husband was still trapped in the house.

Firefighters found him fairly quickly on the first floor, toward the middle of the house, outside a bedroom, Chief Vuona said. He was unconscious when he was brought out of the building and taken by ambulance to UMass, according to the chief.

Firefighters found walkers in the house, leading them to believe that at least one of the couple had problems with mobility.

Officials said firefighters' efforts were hampered by the design of the house, the large accumulation of materials spread throughout the house and the volume of smoke from the fire.

"They liked their stuff," said fire Capt. Seth Colby. "There sure were a lot of contents in there."

When firefighters "walked two feet in the door, it was all completely black smoke. They couldn't see anything," the chief said.

The house, he said, has had "a lot of additions to it over the years — It's a really kind of a funky layout, almost like a maze."

The house was a total loss, he said. The fire appears to have started in a first-floor side room on the front left side of the house, the chief said. The vinyl siding on that side of the home was completely charred on the first and second floors.

Fire investigators took pictures and examined the burned remains. A representative from the state fire marshal's office was at the site. An electrical inspector is expected to examine the damage today.

The chief said firefighters initially focused all their efforts on locating the missing man, but were able to reassign some crew members to tackle the flames as other crews arrived from Westboro, Northboro and Boylston. He said engines from Worcester and Grafton covered the Shrewsbury fire station. It took firefighters 35 to 40 minutes to bring the blaze under control, he said.

Most fire companies were gone after about 1½ hours, according to Chief Vuona. An engine company planned to remain at the scene all night keeping fire watch to make sure there were no flare-ups.